“A
dull people all work and no play can make.” That is what Yoda would say
about Americans if he were to travel from that galaxy far, far away to
Planet Earth and, more specifically, the United States. While the U.S. is
blessed with a wealth of leisure and entertainment facilities, many
Americans have insufficient time to utilize them.

“But when into town
a new Star Wars movie rolls, a different story it is,” the wise Jedi
master might say for May of certain years. They have come six times in 29
years, including 2005. When a new Star Wars movie premieres, not even a
legion of stormtroopers can stop its most dedicated American fans from
experiencing it. (Actually, stormtroopers constitute a good part of the
fan base.)

During the first two
days of the release of Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 2002,
9.4 million Americans -- workers as well as non-workers -- went to see
it. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas (CG&C) estimated
that some 51 percent of them (4.8 million) were full-time workers.
[2] So using this figure and multiplying it by the 2005
average daily wage, which it determined was $130.60, CG&C estimated that
American employers would lose almost $627 million worth of productivity
during the premiere of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
[3] Some workers who did not have the luxury of paid
vacations even chose to forego a day’s wages to catch the movie.
[4]

However, CG&C
speculated that its estimate could be low, because reviews of Episode
III were mostly positive. [5] It speculated
correctly, because the latest Star Wars movie grossed over $83 million
domestically in its first two days (May 19 and 20). Divide this amount by
2005’s average ticket price (estimated to be $6.40), and the number of
admissions for the first two days of Sith would be over 13 million
– considerably more than the number who went to see Episode II
three years earlier. So if 51 percent of Sith viewers during its
first two days were full-time workers, that comes to over 6.6 million
“human resources” skipping work to see Sith happen. In that case, the
estimated loss in productivity from this higher turnout would be over $869
million. [6]

Some have accused
director George Lucas of hurting the economy by releasing his movies on a
weekday, so as to encourage employee absenteeism. [7] But
that is not looking at the entire picture, because other sectors of the
economy stood to benefit. Said John Challenger, CEO of CG&C: “[Sith] will
result in increased consumer spending on movie tickets and refreshments,
increased foreign and domestic tourism, and increased business in shops
and restaurants near the movie theaters." [8] Once the
DVD comes out, along with any reworked version (yet again!) of the
previous five movies, their sales will further contribute to the economy
(and we have not even taken into account the numerous other product
tie-ins with Star Wars).

Some employers
realized the Star Wars phenomenon early on, and, rather than compel their
“Star Warriors” (or “geeks”, as the most devoted Star Wars fans are
popularly known) to show up for work during the first days of a new
release, have accommodated them by being flexible in dealing with absentee
excuses. A handful even joined in the hype by taking their employees to
the movies. [9] One Boston employer has been doing that
for the last three Star Wars movies. Starting with Episode I: The
Phantom Menace in 1999, Seth Miller of Miller Systems has been giving
his employees a paid day off -- as long as they go with him to see the
latest Star Wars movie during its premiere. Said Miller: “It's the benefit
of not working at a giant monolithic -- dare I say 'Imperial' -- type
company." [10] His company’s unusual employee perk
serves as a recruiting tool (although it is not certain if it will remain,
since Episode III is believed to be the final movie in the series
-- unless Lucas decides to do a sequel trilogy). [11]

Even Challenger
himself is an admitted Star Wars fan. [12] He advised
that the figures put out by his firm were “a fun way of looking at
absenteeism,” and added that, “Hopefully, employers, rather than firing
employees, will be embracing it. A good manager will ask who is going to
be out and then have a backup plan. If someone calls in sick with a
hoarse voice, go with 'em! Build some morale.” [13]
Since not all workers have the bonus enjoyed by Miller Systems employees,
Challenger said that workers who planned to cut out of work should tell
their bosses the truth. [14]

Now that Episode
III is winding down in theaters, how did you fans out there who saw it
on its first two days explain your absences to your bosses? Something akin
to, “Take that, Trade Federation!” [15] or an
alternative form of persuasion like, “I'm going to Star Wars and I'm going
to be inspired for the rest of the year”? [16] To those
who used the former alibi, just bear in mind that the Empire can and does
strike back. [17]

In all fairness, not
all full-time workers who saw Episode III during its first two days
of release played “Wookiee Hooky” to do so. Some had already received that
day off (and sometimes more) from their bosses well in advance (and likely
with pay, so this could not be counted as lost productivity because
employers factor in vacation days when determining their employees’
salaries). Some reported for work during the day and then to theaters in
the evening (or caught the morning matinee before going to work). A few
lucky ones managed to catch the very first midnight showings and still
turned up for work the next morning feeling like they could take on the
whole Empire by themselves.

Even American
workers need to recharge their batteries every now and then. They are
already among the most productive workers in the world, and work some of
the longest hours for employees in the industrialized countries. They also
receive less vacation time than most of their counterparts in these
countries. [18] European workers have long received at
least twice the vacation time, and workers in a few European countries are
actually more productive on an hourly basis than their American
counterparts. [19]

American workers are
more productive overall because they work longer hours. [20]
But even their productivity (the hourly output by each worker)
[21] has gone up by some 30 percent since 1973 (about
the same time Lucas began writing Star Wars). [22] If
real wages (wages that are adjusted for inflation) [23]
had increased commensurately over this time, Americans would now be
working three or 3.5-day weeks or five-hour days, as some futurists
predicted back in the 1960s and 1970s, without cramping their
incomes. Computers and robots would have taken over many of our domestic
chores. That would have given folks plenty of time to watch Star Wars
while C3PO served them refreshments. But real wages for many have
struggled to keep up with this enhanced efficiency in the last 30-plus
years. [24] For many others, they have fallen.
[25] (The 3.5-day work week, however, is quite real for
our members of Congress, along with their six-figure salaries, generous
pay hikes, and superb benefits. [26])

The fact that their
pay has not kept up with their productivity has apparently not been lost
on American workers. According to a recent survey on wasted time at work,
over 23 percent of workers surveyed said that their less than adequate
compensation influenced them to slack off on the job, which happened to be
the second most popular reason for being unproductive (behind not having
enough work to do). The estimated value of the lost productivity from such
uneconomical uses of company time? Something to the tune of $759 billion a
year. [27] Possibly enough to finance the construction
of Darth Vader’s star destroyer, and this amount severely dwarfs any
productivity lost from absentee workers during the premiere of a new Star
Wars movie.

Employers had
estimated that their workers wasted from 0.94 to 1.6 hours on the job each
day -- on top of their lunch hour. In fact, employees wasted an average of
2.09 hours per day. That is two hours and 5.4 minutes -- almost enough
time to see a Star Wars movie, which Lucas likes to limit to just over two
hours. (If one skips the end credits, then that may be exactly enough
time.) The amount of time wasted in the top ten time-wasting states,
ranging from 2.5 to 3.2 hours [28] would give employees
more than enough time to watch Episode III (2 hours, 26 minutes
long) in its entirety, with even a few advertisements thrown in.

Still, Americans
generally do work hard (and this includes Star Wars fans, who are
ridiculed for never leaving the security of their parents’ basements
except for the next movie in the saga [29]), and some
are even workaholics. Being a workaholic does not necessarily mean
diligently slaving away on the job day in and day out. It simply means
being addicted to work, whether or not one feels good about it.
[30] Fatigue, for one, is a common symptom of
workaholics, which affects their productivity. Illness is another.
Two-thirds of American workers usually or always labor while sick, and
their diminished productivity (“presenteeism”) during their ordeals
accounts for up to 60 percent of their companies’ healthcare costs.
[31] Even über employees have their shatter points.

The loss of economic
output due to workers’ health problems (their own and those of loved ones)
totaled some $260 billion in 2003. This figure includes productivity lost
from workers taking sick days, workers with reduced productivity days
(including those without paid time off to see a doctor if they become
sick, which also puts their co-workers at risk), and even the 18 million
working age adults who could not work for health reasons.
[32] Combine this with the amount of lost productivity from slacking,
and the country is faced with a couple of Jabba-sized problems, making any
economic loss from all Star Wars premieres look like Salacious Crumb in
comparison.

Hence, it is
possible to be a workaholic and unproductive at the same time. Someone who
shows up for work every day and is the last to leave the office could be
considered a workaholic, even if s/he has not put in a good day’s work for
whatever reason. On the other hand, a tech worker who spends 2.2 hours
(slightly above the average) [33] of his/her work day
trying to sneak in a bit of Rogue Squadron on the PC (with panic button
software installed just in case the boss walks by), but still managing to
get the work done (courtesy of those longer work hours), could be deemed a
slacker.

Americans are caught
in a paradox of slacking because they lack adequate work and/or pay, and
yet have managed to log long hours and achieve a high level of
productivity. Many still demonstrate a sense of duty to their jobs, even
if over 70 percent of them admitted to being “disengaged clock watchers”
and over 60 percent did not think they received any meaningful worth from
their toil in 2003. [34] The feared worker exodus to
theaters during a Star Wars premiere and ensuing dent in the American
economy, the effect of which has been more phantom than menace, could
represent how a lot of employees feel about the work/rest balance today,
and what many employers continue to dread even as they test the limits of
worker endurance. More hours do not always a better employee make.

Slacker employees may actually cost their
companies less by occasionally being allowed to take off for at least a
couple of hours instead of idling in company premises. The presence of
more people in the office means a greater use of company resources like
water, electricity, paper, ink, and even bathroom tissue (for those folks
who time their bowel movements to occur during their work hours). If an
employee gets into an accident while trying to perfect his/her Vaapad
technique near the copy machine, that will hit the company’s insurance
premium.

Some employers have
taken this slacking in stride and dubbed it “creative waste.” They
understand that there may be a silver lining to this cloud, such as a more
liberal work environment, which could lead to greater innovation and
ultimately bigger profits. [35] Lucas might agree. His
slacking off in school did not preclude him from dreaming up and creating
an American institution. [36] Miller might agree too.
“It’s definitely business first,” he said [37], which is
why he may recognize that sometimes employers have to give to get the most
from their employees instead of tightening their grips so hard that some
lucrative ideas may slip through their fingers.

There are people who
genuinely like work, with a small percentage developing “leisure sickness”
if they leave it. [38] But, there is a difference
between working because you like to and working because you have to, and
between working on your own terms and working on someone else’s terms.
Also, it is hard to deny a distinction between not having enough vacation
and not taking enough vacation. Unused vacation is like money in the bank;
it is nice to know that it’s there. For a lucky few, work and leisure are
the same thing. “Find a job you like and you’ll never work a day in your
life,” goes the saying. [39] But for most workers, work
is just that -- work -- and as one comedian asked, “If work is so
terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?” [40]

Yet, it can be hard
for Americans to go on vacation, even if their fewer vacation days would
seem more appreciated. About one out of every eight workers with paid
vacation days takes fewer than three days off each year, although the
typical worker needs to take three vacation days (consecutively?) to
reduce stress. Some fear taking too much vacation will damage their career
prospects, while more recently, the prohibitive cost of fuel (by American
standards) has forced many to modify their vacation plans by staying
closer to home. [41] In that case, taking a few hours
off to catch a Star Wars flick (or any other flick) does not sound like
such a bad deal. Sitting down to a movie is one of life’s little rewards,
and one that is relatively inexpensive and effortless. But a reward has to
be taken in order for it to be called such. As Han Solo would say, “What
good’s a reward if you ain’t around to use it?”

Not being around to
use it seems to be on the increase for Americans. From 1970 to 2002, the
number of hours put in by each American worker increased by 20 percent --
the biggest increase among all industrialized countries.
[42] Yes, American workers, among others, have been subjected to
increasing overtime since the 1990s -- to the point where up to one-third
of it is now mandatory -- and with it an increased risk (up to 61 percent)
of injury. [43] But as one employer saw it, this speaks
two ways: “if you have to work regular overtime, it is because either you
are bad at your job, in which case you should be fired, or, I am bad at my
job because I cannot manage my staff and time well and I should be fired.”
[44]

To those employers
who already understand the need for balance between work and rest: may the
(work)force be with you. Always.